Will old e-mail work with new OS?

Kim Houlihan wrote that she's thinking of upgrading from Windows
2000 to Windows 7, and asked if her Outlook Express would work on
the new OS.

No, Windows 7 comes with no e-mail program at all. Furthermore,
Microsoft has completely abandoned Outlook Express and Windows
Mail. Instead, they suggest downloading Windows Live Mail (a
similar program) from Microsoft.com. Be aware, however, you will
also be asked to be part of Microsoft's other "Live" endeavors in
one way or another.

Users of Outlook Express or Windows Mail who plan on upgrading
to Windows 7 should back up all their important .EML messages
before making the move. The .EML files can be dragged from one's
Inbox (and/or other e-mail folders) into user-created folders on
the desktop. These folders can then be copied onto an external hard
drive or flash drive for subsequent copying onto a Win-7 PC. If you
choose to install Windows Live Mail, you will then be able to open,
read, forward and otherwise manage the messages as you had
previously done with OE or WM.

Gloria McCaffrey wrote to ask if there is a program that would
let her copy or cut multiple items to her Clipboard, and then pick
and choose which ones to paste in various locations. Well, the
traditional rule is that one item at a time gets placed on the
Clipboard upon being copied or cut. It will remain there until
another item is copied or cut to replace it. However, Microsoft
Office programs have an option for doing just what Gloria asks.

To use this option in Word or Excel, click on Edit>Office
Clipboard and a box will appear into which you can place up to 24
items as they are copied or cut.

To subsequently paste an item somewhere else, place your cursor
at the insertion point and then click the item in the Clipboard
box. To remove an item from the Clipboard box, point to it and
choose Delete from the drop-down menu that appears.

Other options can be found by clicking Help and typing "Office
Clipboard" into the Search box.

A number of readers have asked about copying Bookmarks or
Favorites from one browser to another. Well, I use three browsers
(Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome), but I completely
ignore their Bookmark/Favorite folders. Rather, I create my own
desktop folder and put all my favorite URLs into it.

You see, a Bookmark or a Favorite is simply a Web site's
address, such as "http://www.nctimes.com." When visiting a site
whose address you'd like to keep for future reference, simply drag
the little icon at the left of "http" onto your desktop, where it
will appear with a brief description of the site.

Subsequently, double-clicking it will take you immediately to
the site.

One or more folders for storing these "favorite icons" can be
created by right-clicking your Desktop, choosing New>Folder and
naming it something like, well, Bookmarks or Favorites. Then,
regardless of which browser you use, they will always be available
for instantaneous use.